The Baystate Health Education Center is located on 361 Whitney Avenue.

The free Spirit of Women program offers the latest women's health information through seminars with physicians, nurses, and other medical professionals, in a comfortable and lively setting. The program is designed to increase your knowledge of women’s health issues, and in turn, provide you with the information you need to make the best decisions regarding your health. For more information, or to join, visit baystatehealth.org/spiritofwomen.

Waist training uses a corset or neoprene-like waist band to compress the stomach and waist area, worn throughout the day or during exercise. Celebrity spokespeople claim waist training is a means to the perfect hourglass figure, and the trend is gaining traction on social media, leaving doctors concerned.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) say no woman should die of cervical cancer, and that the most important thing they can do to help prevent cervical cancer is to get screened regularly starting at age 21.

It’s been nearly two years since the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) sparked a vigorous debate among patients and health care professionals after issuing their controversial recommendations in November 2009 to roll back breast screening guidelines.

Looking out into a “sea of pink” each year at the Rays of Hope – Walk and Run Toward the Cure of Breast Cancer, breast cancer surgeon Dr. Holly Mason says she is reminded how each woman’s cancer journey is different, from coping with her cancer diagnosis to making choices about treatment.

It’s never too early for teams and individual participants to begin their fundraising efforts for the annual Rays of Hope – A Walk and Run Toward the Cure of Breast Cancer, which will step off in Springfield on Sunday, Oct. 25.